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Anaal Nathrakh: In the constellation of the black widow

25/09/09 || GardensTale

I first heard these guys when “Hell is empty…” had just been released, and until this disc dropped, it was still the only thing I’d heard from them. Nevertheless, I enjoyed said first encounter immensely. Both the music and the vocals are uglier than your grandma’s cunt and just as destructive. There’s elements of death metal, black metal, grindcore and industrial metal, put in an omnipresent blender with the dial set on “Armageddon Shake”. Onslaughts of evilicious blasts are interchanged with chips and bits of melody here and there, creating some coherence in the chaos. Meanwhile, V.I.T.R.I.O.L. likes to bellow thunderous roars, hysterical screams and ominous, Shagrath-like clean vocals, in a good mixture. I can gather the screams won’t be for anyone as they really are absolutely hysterical and ugly, but I find it fitting the apocalyptic music.

So, what’s changed on the latest offering? Some, but not much. Mostly though, it’s a shift of perspective.

The most obvious change is the replacement of the Shagrath-y clean vocals by less ominous, more chant-like clean vocals. I personally dug the ominous approach, but the chants work fine as well. It’s a matter of taste, really. ‘Isn’t all music?’ Har-har, very funny, now crawl back in your mom’s vagina and die.

But as said, the main change is in the perspective. “Hell is empty…” was all about the epic evil apocalypse of doom and epic evil. And doom. Much of it was mean and chaotic, but much of it was also grand, more of a Behemoth kind of vibe. This meant sometimes the pace took a step back so the huge scope of malice could be properly viewed. This latest offering takes that view a bit closer to the heart. It’s a more of a personal in-your-face kind of chaotic evil mayhem. So, less doom and epic, and at times it’s a bit harder to follow and swallow. The increased chaos and decreased structure in the songs makes them flow together more, which would be fine if this was a progrock concept album. You might have gathered that it’s not.

As a small personal aside that people who never played Half-Life 2 or the episodes can ignore, it reminded me a lot of playing the ending of Half-Life 2 and the first half of Episode One back-to-back. First you’re on a 3 mile high tower shooting down dropships, followed by a climactic earth-shattering explosion. Then, not long after, you’re in the dark where hordes of zombies, both slow and fast, both grenade-carrying and talon-wielding, come to hit you in your fucking face. See the contrast? It’s up close and personal now.

The upside of this is that it is more intense than “Hell is empty”. It’s frantic and insane, putting the pedal to the medal, blowing all gauges into the red, which is a good way to boost your adrenaline. Jason Statham could’ve used this album in Crank. It’d just be him listening to this album the whole movie.

Now, I’m usually not a fan of extreme metal; most of the time it sounds like an indiscernable blur of overdoing everything to me. It can convey a certain feeling (generally anger) but that doesn’t stay interesting for more than a few minutes. Anaal Nathrakh do stay interesting; there’s enough variation, there’s bits of melody and plenty different vocal styles to be found, and not all songs play at the same pace all the time. There’s proper songwriting, and despite the decrease of structure with the new disc, the duo has pulled through once more and delivered a real fucking kickass album, and made me write a needlessly long review on it. Congratulations, fools.

Information
Released: 2009
Label: Candlelight Records
Website: Anaal Nathrakh MySpace
Band
V.I.T.R.I.O.L.: vocals
Irrumator: instruments and programming

Tracklist
01. In the Constellation of the Black Widow
02. I Am the Wrath of Gods and the Desolation of the Earth
03. More of Fire Than Blood
04. The Unbearable Filth of the Soul
05. Terror in the Mind of God
06. So Be It
07. The Lucifer Effect
08. Oil Upon the Sores of Lepers
09. Satanarchrist
10. Blood Eagles Carved on the Backs of Innocents

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